Tag: "obesity"

Jun 20, 2012 | 9 comments | by John Goodman

Things You May Not Know About Government and Obesity

Mayor Bloomberg wants to ban large sodas. The Institute of Medicine wants to tax unhealthy folks. As John Goodman showed in a previous post, it’s hard to justify any of this. Here are some additional considerations.

Population obesity seems to have plateaued. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows no trend in US child and adolescent BMI since 1999. US men and women have had constant obesity rates and mean BMI since 2003. NHANES BMI measurements date suggest that the growth in U.S. overweight occurred between 1976-80 and 1988-94.

In 1997, the government made 35.4 million adults overweight overnight. It redefined overweight as a BMI greater than or equal to 25 regardless of age. Before that, overweight was BMI ≥ 27 for those 35 or older. Kathleen Flegal of the National Center for Health Statistics estimates that the change increased the fraction of overweight adults from roughly a third of the population to over half of it.

Read More » »

Jun 15, 2012 | 9 comments | by Linda Gorman

Obese Homeless in Boston, and Other Links

One-third of the homeless are obese (at least in Boston).

Exercise doesn’t fight depression.

There’s no proof too much salt is bad for you.

Sleeping with a partner often inhibits sleep; but it may help you live longer.

Boozers live longer than abstainers (moderate drinkers fare the best).

Jun 13, 2012 | 8 comments | by Devon Herrick

O would some power the giftie gie us…

A team of researchers led by a group from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently asked 3,622 young men and women in Mexico to estimate their body size based on categories ranging from very underweight to obese. People in the normal weight range selected the correct category about 80 percent of the time, but 58 percent of overweight students incorrectly described themselves as normal weight. Among the obese, 75 percent placed themselves in the overweight category, and only 10 percent accurately described their body size.

Source: Tara Parker-Pope in the NYT.

May 03, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman

Not All Community Health Centers are Alike

At Oakhurst Medical Center here [in Stone Mountain, Georgia], just 20% of children have received all their recommended immunizations by age 2…

Fewer than half of its diabetics and a little more than a third of those with high blood pressure had their conditions under control in 2010 — far below national averages…

But 65 miles east of here in Greensboro in rural central Georgia…at TenderCare Clinic, almost all children get the appropriate immunizations, and eight out of 10 diabetics have normal blood sugar levels.

Full USA Today article on the performance variation within community health centers.

May 01, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman

Some Americans Go to Canada for Care

A weight-loss option that the F.D.A. hasn’t approved.

The intragastric balloon, filled with liquid and left in the stomach for up to six months, is not approved for use in the United States, though it’s available in Europe, South America and other parts of the world… Since the balloon’s introduction in Canada in 2006, people like Mrs. Kwarciak have been streaming north in growing numbers. Drawn by the relative ease of balloon placement, Americans account for nearly a third of patients undergoing the procedures in Canadian clinics just over the border.

Full Roni Caryn Rabin article in the NYT.

Apr 25, 2012 | 6 comments | by John Goodman

Poor Areas are Not Food Deserts

Poor urban neighborhoods…not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.

Within a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, “you can get basically any type of food,” said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies.

Full article on “food deserts” in The New York Times.

Apr 23, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman